N Scale Column Research

[Rossford Yard]

We have an informal N scalers "Train Lunch" here in DFW, although as our group has spread around the Metroplex a bit further in the last few years, the meetings have become far less frequent.

Hate to say it, but we modeled it after some of the older HO guys, who have a lunch every Thursday to kibbitz about MRR.  Not that we weren't welcome or anything, but we figured we would keep it to ourselves.

[conrail98]

There's no real formality in our NJ Mafia, I wouldn't even call it anything as I think most of us up here are "lone wolf" or run in other circles. I know for myself, I'm part of an operating group that was spawned off of interests/members of our NMRA division. Whenever I get something running (hey it's only been 4 years since start of benchwork), I'd be the first N scale layout in the group as all the others are HO. However, we've retired 3 layouts, 2 rather large ones, so there seems to be more of an emphasis on getting layouts into ops mode within the group even though none will have the size of the ones that have been retired. That being said, do I get crap for being in N-scale, yes, but in jest, and I think the guys are kind-of intrigued about ops in N,

Phil

[mcjaco]

However I have visited a few of the HO clubs in Spokane, one has steep dues, $30 a month and seem to spend most of their time talking politics.  Another isn't in the greatest part of town, lacks parking and wants $20 a month.  Glad I'm not HO.

$30/month is reasonable in my parts.  I think that's about par for the course.


I'm not in a club.  I'm in a group of "like minded modelers."  We get along just fine, unless Skibbe didn't get enough sleep the night before.

[cv_acr]

Ha ha this is going to break down into a "I have no friends" thread.

What are "friends"? 

 

[OHCR 4218]

I have been a member of Central Ohio N-Trak for 8 years. While our club dose have its problems, as I'm shure any club dose, we tend to work them out without loosing members too often. We have a small N-Trak layout a small HO layout and a sectional N scale layout in progress that will eventualy raplace the N-Trak set up at the clubhouse. We have the club open every tuesday and have one business meeting a month. Still up in the air on if that is overkill.  Our dues are 30 a quarter. We have members interested in all aspects of the hobby and for the most part what one knows they share and help others with. We have some members who run a train evey night and some who haven put a train on in years. We do 7 or 8 shows a year with out travel N-Trak and T-Trak layouts. The club owns a few N-Trak moduals and a trailer. All T-Trak and most N-Trak moduls are owned and transported by members. I defenenlty agree that once a club stops working on fixing or replacing things it's on it's way out. We try our best to keep up on repairs but in some cases such as out 1992 convention era clubhouse moduals the time comes to replace things. I know that if I had the space and funding to build my own railroad I would becouse I too want things my way. I think I would still remain as active in the club though, you never know what you might learn if your not open to others ideas.

Brandon

[Bsklarski]

NO group here. I model alone. There are no other people who are into the hobby in Massachusetts.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Brian, I'm just so far away. And lazy, but mostly far.
Ha ha

[Bsklarski]

I, myself, have been lazy lately. I cant get motivated to do anything. Partly because this time of year I get bumbed out because we only get like 3 hours of daylight a day and I work nights. Partly also seems like I hit a brick wall modeling.

[Ian MacMillan]

I am forever destine to be alone. So I model that way as well. 

[central.vermont]

I am forever destine to be alone. So I model that way as well. 

Well you live in the damn boonies kid, only friends you have up there are Moose and Deer!! 

Jon

[eric220]

My round-robin Gandy Dancing group has about 8 members in it.  Three of us are N Scalers.  The rest are Horribly Oversized.  We're spread all over the greater Bay Area, from Modesto to Vallejo.  I'm the newest arrival to the group, so I don't have much insight into how the group formed.  I connected with another member of the group at the LHS early last year, and they've been foolish enough to accept me ever since.  Our layouts are in various stages of construction, from just broke plywood a couple of months ago to "finished".  (And in true model railroader tradition, there are already plans afoot to destroy the "finished" layout and start over.)

[superchief]

I am an orignal member of the Houston N Crowd since 1978, we have had our shares of politics, started as an N Trak club now we have a club layout in a store. As most clubs you hit it off we some and not with others. I have found that meeting people thru clubs, train shows and conventions you find people that you get along with, and maybe have skills you don't have or are better that yours. Tend to "hang out" with these 4 - 5 guys and  work on layouts, railfan trips, conventions, go to train shows, or operating sessions. Not really a round robin groups just an imformal group that likes trains. Gordon   

[Ike the BN Freak]

$30/month is reasonable in my parts.  I think that's about par for the course.

I know the club I was in when I lived in Anchorage was $5 a month also, families were $8, I believe.

Most clubs I've known or been in have been under $10 a month.  Which is why I said that the $30 a month was steep.

[peteski]

NO group here. I model alone. There are no other people who are into the hobby in Massachusetts.

I also live in Massachusetts (the northeastern part) and there are several model RR clubs (mostly H0) around this area.  I'm not much into clubs (with their politics, elected officials, etc.) but I do belong (since mid 80s) to the Northeast N-Trak.  We always met only during train shows and we also have a business meeting in the Summer.  We also had a Winter work session which eventually evolved into Winterfest (mini N-Trak convention) during the Amherst show in W. Springfield.  The club lost a bunch of core members and for the last 10 years or so we've been struggling to get enough members to attend the train shows.  We do have some new members but it is not the same as it used to be in the past.

I also belong (since early 90s) to a round-robin group of N scalers. We meet on Thursday nights and build and operate several layouts.  I feel much more comfortable in this group.  There are also other (mainly operators) round-robin groups in the area with H0 layouts, but I'm more of a builder than operator so I prefer the group I belong to (as we always seem to have layout which is in the construction phase). One of the layouts form our group was featured in MR magazine and I also posted a thread about it on the Atlas forum  [url]http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=52943/url]  Another one, Jim Whitehead's UP Northern was IIRC featured in MR magazine in the 80s and also in an older edition of N-Scale Primer book from Kalambach.  The other 2 layouts are under construction.

I also participate in several local events like Railrun, Fallrun (operating sessions on bunch of local layouts) and Tour de Chooch (open house at a bunch of local layouts.)  All of this takes care of my model RR needs.

[Bremner]

I am not a NMRA type guy because I don't take my hobby that serious. It is a hobby, not my job.